So, I'm fairly new to the world of card magic but I have already noticed a common trend among spectators(especially those younger than 18) to want to call out how they think a trick is done. I teach school and sometimes close my classes with a trick but every time some student in the back will call out "it was a double lift!" What do you do in similar situations? Is this just a growing trend?

If you find this sort of thing happening with the majority of people you perform for and not just a select group then there are a few things to consider.

Firstly consider the tricks you perform and shine a spotlight on them to see of any of these statements can be preempted. In my opinion particular tricks elect particular responses, if I make a coin vanish I would come to expect a response like "where did it go?" or "bring it back", if I did and T&R card I would expect a request for examination. If the method employed would prevent me doing any of these things then I would question if the version of the trick I'm using is the best for this effect.

Secondly I would see if I could develop conditions in performance real or not to see if you can counteract some of the natural thoughts that are being reflected by your audience. If I have a gaffed packet trick that can't be examined then I would set the same cards up with an ungaffed set and switch out for the gaffs after the ungaffed cards had been examined. If I made a coin vanish and they think I just dropped it down my sleeve I would start the trick with my sleeve rolled up.

Also another aspect is your performing style, if you have a smart ass catch me if your can approach then I would say that your bringing a lot of the trouble on yourself and I would also say that indulging some requests and ignoring others is an inconsistency that wont go unnoticed and will only get picked up on. In my opinion decide on ether repeating all effects when asked or none at all, unless of course the trick itself has a natural repetition build into it.

Also make the magic entertaining, it might be a strange comment but one that could also have an impact on your issue, most new people to magic have a very clinical approach to their magic. Pick a card, now shuffle the deck. Now I'm going to find your card, Tada.

Performing magic like that makes magic a puzzle to be worked out not something to be enjoyed and savored with your audience.If johnny is laughing at something funny is thoughts are far from how the trick is done. Give them something else to think about.

Of course none of that answers your direct question of "is this a trend" to which I say, not normally. Look at your performance as I suggested and see if you can rectify the issue.

Magically

Aus

Take a look here:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&forum=2

Definitely something I've noticed the couple times I performed in street for request(someone saw me practicing flourishes in public and asked to see a trick). Now first times this happened I did exactly what I shouldn't, so basically how AUS described.

Now let me just note on this point that I don't think there is nothing wrong with "catch me if you can" style, if that's actually style you want to embrace. You can make that to be a thing, but then you have to choose your tricks wisely.

Now I basically just solved this by not performing for people I suspect are like this. I'm just not up to the whole thing. I couldn't care less about fooling you and if that's your motive to see a trick then I'm not interested. I mean if I get approached, I don't think it's too rude to decline the offer. I can usually tell if I practice flourishes and people approach like "that looks really cool" and don't even ask a trick I might throw in color change etc. But if they straight up go to "show us magic trick" then I know to avoid doing anything like that.

But it all comes down to what you want. Now that you know what to expect I'd reconsider what effects you want to use and how to present them. Or be like me and don't do tricks. I hate the idea of "doing a trick" more than anything. For me it sounds like being a dog or something. I either do performance/routine or I practice and that's it. Something I don't do myself, but generally what I've observed is that comedy generally helps to decrease these bust attempts.

I appreciate your joy for magic, although just because you have a "captive" audience doesn't mean you should perform magic for them. It may just be the case that not all your students appreciate this and go out of their way to spoil it for you. You'd be less likely to run into this in front of an audience who came to watch a performance.

Like the others said, pick your spectators and your effects wisely

Thanks for all the great feedback. I definitely like the idea of doing a performance routine rather than just a trick. Yall rock.

I also teach school and sometimes include a trick. A class is a tough audience because, as their teacher, you have a weird mix of familiarity and adversity. Catching the teacher is part of being a student. I do better with mentalism because there's nothing to examine, there's not much on YouTube, and students can almost... almost... believe that my mental powers are developed beyond their imagining.

When I first read the thread title I thought, "Are you annoying your audience?" Silly me.

On the occasions that I performed magic in a classroom it was as a "visual aid" to emphasis some lesson point -- an allegorical story to be remembered. (as a substitute)
The magic was secondary to the lesson and not for entertainment.

I occasionally rewarded students with some magic effect if the lessons were completed early and there had been no discipline problems.

Even in classes of "emotionally disturbed" students a reward can be more effective than punishment. Even then, they had to request that I perform.

Sure, kids enjoy "getting the substitute" games. Magic or the promise of same allowed me to "hold my own." No one wins -- just part of learning.

Many enjoyed my stories even more than the magic. Somehow they believed the story more because of the magic -- as if they knew I wouldn't trick them twice.

I guess some students were annoyed -- but were quickly subdued by their peers who knew that annoyance came from within themselves and not me.

"Attention and retention" is the best teaching format available. Magic can be part of that. Performing for students is usually not.

I think if you make your patter more interesting than the effect, that can go a long way towards fixing your issue. If you throw in a joke, or an interesting story, then you keep them entertained, and they don't have to entertain themselves by figuring out the puzzle. If you keep them thinking about something else, then when the actual effect comes up, they're legitimately surprised.

This type of heckler is known as The Exposer (a.k.a Smart-Ass Heckler), who may ruin your performance. You can basically handle the Exposer in 2 easy steps.

Step #1: Ask "Do you have a question?" This typically takes them back. If they say no or keep silent, then follow-up with "If you have no question, then don't interrupt or I'll turn you into a green-skinned ogre." You usually get a laugh from the audience.

Step #2: What if step 1 didn't work? Then, it's time to empower your audience. Simply ask your audience if they want to watch some magic from the Exposer, since the Smart-Ass Heckler seems to know every sleight-of-hand. Social proof is a powerful behavior corrector. The Exposer will get embarrassed when he realizes that your audience is not with him.

Note: If you don't want the heckler to spoil your magic, then you should master your craft of card conjuring in the first place. Understand that the sleights are just insruments or mechanics that enable your magic to work. The success of your magic depends on how you handle the sleights deceptively in a manner natural to the laymen, where the audience cannot distinguish between the external reality (displaying a single card) and the internal reality (double turnover and displayed as one card). It might be the case that the heckler interrupted you because your double lift technique became perceptible. Therefore, it is necessary to manage your audience via patters and misdirections that serve to psychologically conceal the sleights in the course of your performance.

I think the best way to avoid these kinds of situations is to practice the routine countless times. Also, I agree with SamChak. Social proof and letting the heckler feel he is alone in exposing your tricks will make him/her feel bad about himself/herself. Anyways, good luck!

I would not say its a growing trend for people to try to reason how you did what you did. People are always trying to find a logical solution to the impossible feat that they just saw. They know that "magic isn't real" and that you are tricking them.

Is it some student or the same student? If it's the same student, pull him aside and see if he has an interest in magic and ask if he wants to session. "Double Lift" is not really in the layman vernacular. That's a magician term. Laymen would say you have 2 cards. So that student may have shown some interest in magic at some point. When you are sessioning, be friendly and when you are comfortable enough with the student, point out how its cool that he knows how you are doing your tricks, but that as a magician, he really shouldn't be exposing that to the rest of the kids.

Get that student on your side, and he won't be heckling you anymore.

Then fail his ass at the end of the year. just kidding. maybe.

It's called heckling. Best thing is to ignore the heckler. If he/she persists tell them not to spoil it for others. Chances are that the method revealed doesn't necessarily resonate with the rest of the audience. Most aren't familiar with card slights so calling out double lift doesn't mean anything.

Aus really hit the nail on the head, when I perform I try to convey the feeling that we are all in together to try to just enjoy the magic of what is going on. This way they don't feel its necessary to figure out everything I'm doing, and if they somehow do they don't want to spoil it for everyone else. I have found that this really works for me.

In fact after shows I have had people come over to me saying how they don't usually enjoy magicians because they feel like they are being put down, but they enjoyed me because I put myself on the same level as them so to speak.